N.C. man dies after waiting 22 hours at hospital

RALEIGH, North Carolina (AP) -- A mental patient died after workers at a North Carolina hospital left him in a chair for 22 hours without feeding him or helping him use the bathroom, said federal officials who have threatened to cut off the facility's funding.
The state sent a team Tuesday to help Cherry Hospital in Goldsboro draft new procedures to ensure patients receive proper care.
An investigator's report released Monday found that 50-year-old Steven Sabock died in April after he...

In FL, there are homes for MR adults. The 24-hour staff has very little training and makes just over minimum wage. They do not have to be CNAs, and most are not, because CNAs can make better money elsewhere. They care for and also pass meds (2-weeks of training) to the residents. There is a nurse supervisor who is most likely not in-house. The state funds only the bare necessities for these patients.

Are those enough red flags to tell you why this has happened before and why it will happen again?

The fact that this particular incident happened in a hospital setting is different only in that the workers should have known better. I really fail to see how this is the hospital's fault. Perhaps the workers should have done their jobs?

In FL, there are homes for MR adults. The 24-hour staff has very little training and makes just over minimum wage. They do not have to be CNAs, and most are not, because CNAs can make better money elsewhere. They care for and also pass meds (2-weeks of training) to the residents. There is a nurse supervisor who is most likely not in-house. The state funds only the bare necessities for these patients.

Are those enough red flags to tell you why this has happened before and why it will happen again?

I had no idea that staff with 2 weeks of training could pass meds and care for people without even a CNA. This is very sad. Thank you for the information.

Aug 20, '08

"Cherry Hospital is a 274-bed inpatient psychiatric hospital..."

Website states they are JCAHO accredited..... Unit Manager will certainly have some explaining of staffs lack of action/care in this case.

Aug 20, '08

This is really sad though. They choose to mistreat these patiens because they're not paid well enough. I mean if you're going to choose this particular position at least taske it seriously. People's lives are at risk. Imagiine it as your own parents or family member.

Aug 20, '08

I did clinicals at Cherry, and while it was 10 years ago, I can't believe it has went so far down hill. It really wasn't that bad then. At least when we were there, it wasn't.

ETA: oh, btw, when I was there it was fully staffed with Rn's, LPN's, and CNA's

Aug 20, '08

i just cannot fathom anyone letting a resident sit for 22 hrs straight.
it goes beyond comprehension.
let them all lose their jobs, and even certification/licenses.

leslie

Aug 20, '08

I agree that this is horrible, but is there a causative link between being in a chair for 22 hours and dying?

I agree that this is horrible, but is there a causative link between being in a chair for 22 hours and dying?

the article states he choked on his medication.
aspiration pneumonia?

leslie

Aug 20, '08

"The report said Sabock sat, unattended, in the room for four work shifts. The report also found that Sabock, formerly of Roanoke Rapids, ate nothing the day he died and had little food in the three days preceding his death"

- unattended for 4 shifts; not being fed; the facility might lose its funding

Aug 20, '08

The mentally ill are disposable. They can't advocate for themselves, they are mistreated even by alleged professionals who take their behavior personally, and are often stepped over in disgust when they live on the streets.